1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods for forming and inspecting the patterns for semiconductor devices using the optical- or electron-beam lithography technique.
2. Description of the Related Art
The optical- or electron-beam lithography technique is used for the patterning process in manufacturing semiconductor devices, and the pattern forming accuracy and pattern inspecting accuracy become important as the integration increases. Glass masks or semiconductor substrates are frequently deformed by a change in temperature. This deformation affects the pattern forming accuracy and pattern inspecting accuracy. To prevent the influence, the system is adopted to control the temperature of the glass masks or semiconductor substrates by leaving them in a constant-temperature equipment before applying the optical- or electron-beam lithography to them.
Semiconductor wafers or glass masks with semiconductor device patterns are conventionally prevented from deformation by leaving them in a constant-temperature equipment and keeping them at the specified temperature in order to improve the pattern forming accuracy and pattern inspecting accuracy. However, the temperature or temperature distribution of semiconductor wafers or glass masks often vary before they are placed in the constant-temperature equipment. Likewise the heat transfer characteristic also varies between individual semiconductor wafers or glass masks. As such, it is conventionally difficult to detect the temperature of each of them and the temperature distribution at the time they are left in the constant-temperature equipment. When patterns are formed or inspected before deformation due to temperature change is not adequately eliminated, the pattern forming accuracy and pattern inspecting accuracy are degraded. In addition, to adequately remove the deformation, the time for leaving semiconductor wafers or glass masks extremely increases time required for production and thereby, the production throughput decreases.